I could literally talk for Britain about wheelchair basketball, I love it! After my very first session, back when I was 10 or 11, I knew I had to do some sort of sport. Until then, I hadn’t had an opportunity for a few years, as I’d been getting used to living with my juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

My first time on the court was the first day of the six weeks holiday, during the basketball off-season. The coach told me to hop into a chair. So, I did, and I haven’t looked back.

In wheelchair sports, the chair acts as a sort of leveller, if you like. The participants might have a variety of different types and degrees of disability, and the chair means we are all on a level playing field, as it were! I remember the group on my first visit being quite varied – there was me, with JIA, people who used crutches, others in wheelchairs, amputees, and able-bodied people also. There was every walk of life you could imagine, and they were all just hanging out, chatting, and laughing. It had such a nice atmosphere.

Learning from the best 

Although it’s the flagship Paralympic sport, the wheelchair basketball community is really small – everyone knows each other, including the Team GB squad. Some of the best players, like Sophie Cargill and Harry Brown, were training at my first session. They taught me how to bounce and dribble the ball and push myself around. It was amazing!

Soon after, I got chucked into a game that looked as violent and aggressive as all of hell! I took to it like a duck to water. The fact I could do it felt so good.

I wasn’t as incapacitated as some of the other players, but when I needed to sit out for a bit, nobody batted an eyelid. It’s the kind of game where if someone is in trouble, play stops without any issue and we all help to make sure that person is OK. Everyone steps in wherever they’re needed.

When the season started again, I joined an under-15s junior league and our team came third, I was so happy! Your skill level increases drastically in that first year as you learn the game and it’s a lot of fun. At one session, we jousted with crutches while in those tank-like NHS wheelchairs! My able-bodied twin brother and older sister started playing too – it’s a lovely thing to do together.

The best game of my life

My absolute highlight came when I was made team captain for Yorkshire in the national league. It was an incredible experience!

I’ll never forget this one tournament. We’d gone to Worcester and knew we’d likely face Wales in the semi-final. They’re notorious for bringing loads of supporters, musical instruments, dogs, the lot – they had about 300 people, which is unheard of, everyone else had like 50! We’d cheered for the other teams, so when it came down to Yorkshire against Wales, we had 500 supporters from all over the country – the sound was deafening.

The first three quarters of the game, we matched. It was so close. The score was 63-64 with the final 10 seconds on the clock as my brother passed me the ball. I’m a speedy player, and at that point I got a fast break. I kept going straight, then took the shot – no one breathed, it was the weirdest kind of silence. The ball went in!

I ended up crying, everyone else cried – the Wales team was hysterical, as they were the fan favourite and we beat them! I’ve never felt happiness like that.

In wheelchair basketball, it’s like everyone is always so happy to be there anyway. I think it’s because they’ve gone through that same experience of ‘being different’. There’s a mutual understanding and acceptance that it’s just the way things are.

Disability and sport 

In high school, I was bullied for being disabled but at training I could be myself. Sport helped me accept who I was. Being open also helps, I’ve learned, but it isn’t easy for everyone. To be a guy and say my joints are hurting, or you’re in a club and struggling, is harder. It’s especially hard for those that haven’t had any input from someone in life to understand how talking about your illness can be beneficial. This is one reason I submitted a clip for the ‘How to get relief from arthritis’ video for Arthur’s Place TV. It was great to see wheelchair basketball as a way for young people like me to enjoy life.

Even if you think you’re ‘not disabled enough’, I’d encourage you to try a wheelchair sport. I also love sit skiing, hand cycling and recently started wheelchair racing. Regardless of how you view yourself, these sports, as well as wheelchair basketball, are open to everybody – including able-bodied people. The more the merrier I say and the games are made fair.

Teaming up with my twin brother really works because he can travel with the ball, whereas I have speed on my side and can push laps around like there’s no tomorrow! We’re currently playing for Durham University, as my brother studies there. It’s a mixture of coaching too, because for a lot of the team, it was their first time in a chair and a brand-new experience. Now they look like they’ve been pushing for years!

Wheelchair basketball at Newcastle University 

Newcastle University is one of the best northern unis for wheelchair users as the campus is so accessible and they’re really up on disability. As soon as I started, I knew setting up the uni’s first wheelchair basketball team was something I wanted to do.

I saw the sports leader about it in my first week. He immediately said: “let’s do it.”

All the other wheelchair users I’ve spoken to are up for joining the team and all of my friends have no choice – they’re playing! They all have some kind of wheelchair sport experience as well, and I know because of that we’ll beat my brother at Durham!